Turkey prevented Russia from capturing Odesa and Mykolaiv - Ukrainian ambassador

Turkey's closure of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as required by the Montreux Convention, significantly limited the aggressor's capabilities at sea. In particular, this prevented Russia from occupying Odesa, Mykolaiv and other territories.

This was stated by Ambassador of Ukraine to Turkey Vasyl Bodnar. Russia planned to seize these cities from the sea.

"One of the key stages of Ukraine's defense was the closure of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits by Turkey. One Moscow cruiser was out, and two more were waiting in the Mediterranean. And the fact that Turkey closed the straits, I believe, prevented Russia from using its advantage at sea to capture Odesa, Mykolaiv and other territories that Moscow planned to occupy from the sea," Bodnar said.

The diplomat also noted that Turkey has become an important transport hub for Ukraine, where a transport visa-free regime for Ukrainian carriers is now in place.

"Earlier, when cargo ships intended for Ukraine stopped in Turkish ports, the regulations did not allow Ukrainian carriers to enter to transport these goods. Now there is a transport visa-free regime. Without any licenses and permits, our companies transport cargoes that Ukraine desperately needs through Turkish ports," Bodnar said.

Earlier, it was reported that the Russian Navy no longer has a significant impact on the course of hostilities in Ukraine. In the the Azov and Black Seas region, it is practically paralyzed, and even if it is possible to redeploy ships through inland waterways, Russia cannot do so due to the inability to effectively use the available resources.

As reported, Russia has admitted that it is afraid of Ukraine's strikes on Crimea. The emergence of new weapons systems, including naval drones, in service with the Ukrainian defense forces, as well as their successful use, forced Russia to hide what it has left from the Black Sea Fleet. Due to the effective attacks, the Black Sea Fleet was forced to "change its residence": almost all large ships were withdrawn from Crimea.

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